Today Nigel Farage resigns as an MP, triggering a by-election in Clacton which he says he plans to stand in. He is currently facing an ongoing parliamentary standards investigation into whether he should have declared a £5 million gift he received from the cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
Making the announcement in a statement streamed online, Farage said that he had done “nothing wrong” and that he needed the money to pay for security. He accused Sky News of harassing his family and said that standards regulations had been weaponised by the “establishment.” Calling the by-election “people versus the establishment”, Mr Farage said “the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions.”
Adam, Alex and Chris unpack what the move might mean.
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New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.